Thanks for the encouragement and support. Laura, thanks for the tip on the ET sites and the idea that Sinemet helps with Fibromyalgia pain. I will look into that. I did find a group for ET on the WeMove site that seems pretty active. Neurotalk also has an ET forum, but it doesn't seem very active. The WeMove site seems like the best bet for ET support right now. At least that way I will have people to talk to specifically about ET and the medications for ET.

I am a little nervous about starting the beta blocker that they use to treat ET for a couple of reasons. The first reason is because I have type one diabetes and the Neurologist told me that it can make me have higher blood sugar levels. So, he will be in touch with my Endocrinologist about that and I will be sending more regular blood sugar reports to my doctor as well. I use an insulin pump, so any adjustments will be pretty easy to make. The nature of diabetes is kind of frustrating though because there are so many things aside from food that make it difficult to treat. I am just hoping that things don't get too crazy! The second reason that I am a little worried is because beta blockers affect your blood pressure and tend to lower it. My blood pressure is normal, sometimes a little on the low side. I am concerned about that. There are a lot of people in my family that have high BP. I have always joked that that is the one thing that I don't have to worry about. I get all of the strange stuff! Now, I will have to be a little more watchful about that, too. Third, I am a little concerned about what effect the beta blocker might have on my heart. I know that they use it for heart problems. I have never had any problems with my heart. I try to eat right and stay active and I know that diabetes is tough on the heart as it is. So, hopefully, all of the things that I do right will be a benefit to me.

Yesterday when the Neuro checked my vitals, my BP was 130/85. That is higher than normal. My pulse while resting was 104bpm. That was high, too. I am sure that it was related to my anxiety level. He explained to me that anxiety is kind of like a vicious cycle. You get anxious, which causes more adrenaline to flow through your blood, which in turn, makes you more anxious. He said that beta blockers help to stop that cycle from happening. That all makes sense to me. I have always been on the anxious, hypervigilant side of life. I have read a little about the PD personality and I pretty much fit that description to a tee! If anxiety esacerbated ET tremors just as it does PD tremors, than it would make sense that something that helps with anxiety would be helpful to settle down the tremors.

I cut my Sinemet in half lastnight and took it before bed. That worked like a charm because I slept right through the nauseous phase. I am supposed to take it for two more nights and then be done with it. I don't know if it is normal or not, but I am very stiff across the tops of my shoulder muscles again. The Sinemet really helped with that. It makes me wonder about the possibility of some sort of dystonia. My muscles are like rocks in that area. I questioned the Neuro about that yesterday and he said that he has never met a person that didn't have some knots in those muscles. I felt that was a little too easily dismissed. The problem with that is that my muscles are completely knotted up. As I said, the Sinemet really helped with the pain from that. I haven't noticed that the muscles feel any looser, but lastnight my husband massaged my shoulders and he said that they feel looser to him. He is my personal masseuse and he would notice that change more than I would. The Sinemet also really helped with the internal vibration that I feel through my body. It bugs me that it is worse on the left side of my body than the right side and that is one of the things I thought pointed towards PD. The Sinemet helped that, too. I also felt that my movements were a lot less ratchety or jerky while on the Sinemet. I was able to move more fluidly. I didn't take my Sinemet in the morning yesterday because I wanted the new Neuro to see me without it. I was way worse yesterday than I have been since I started taking the Sinemet almost a month ago. So, as you see, I am still not really sure what to think about all of this. By nature, I am very inquisitive and my husband thinks that is part of my problem. He thinks I should just take what the doctor says and stop worrying about having PD. I think that is great advice, but unfortunately, doctors are wrong about things all of the time. How many of you were told that you had something besides PD and then in the end actually wound up having PD? I have already heard of pkell and Laura. I know that your intent was not to add to my nervousness about this ET diagnosis, but I know that misdiagnosis is a reality for many people. I know that my presentation is not typical for PD, but as you read above, my response to the PD meds still leaves me with questions. That, and the things that you will read in my next paragraph.

I did some reading about ET lastnight. another thing that bugs me is that what I read on many sites said that ET isn't very common in the legs. The first symptom that I ever noticed was that I was having problems with my legs getting really shaky when I was climbing up and down the stairs. Also, I couldn't find anything anywhere that mentioned stiffness being a part of ET. I have complained about feeling very stiff for the last three years. As you know, that is more of a classic PD symptom. However, I don't have any problems with slowness or balance according to the Neurologist, so I don't fit the PD criteria. I guess there is just a small part of me that is worried that I might fall somewhere in between the two. I am doing my best to not think about it, or worry myself unnecessarily, but I have that little voice in my head that is still questioning. Maybe it is just going to take awhile to accept this.

As you can see...I am still full of questions. Any thoughts?

Evonne